Russian photojournalist missing in Ukraine is dead: agency

Russia had opened a probe in mid-August and had believed that he had been taken by Ukrainian authorities.

A column of destroyed Ukrainian military vehicles are abandoned near a village; Andrei Stenin’s car was hit by shots and burnt on the road close to Donetsk during the rebel stronghold in Eastern Ukraine. ( Source: AP )

Russian photographer Andrei Stenin, missing since early August, has been found dead in Ukraine, the RIA-Novosti press agency he worked for announced on Wednesday. “Our colleague, the photographer Andrei Stenin, is dead. It turns out he was not a prisoner, he has been dead for a month,” said the agency’s head Dmitry Kiselev.

“His car was hit by shots and it had been burnt on the road close to Donetsk,” Kiselev said, referring to a rebel stronghold in eastern Ukraine. Russia had opened a probe in mid-August into the disappearance of the photographer and had believed that he had been taken by Ukrainian authorities.

“Unfortunately, when we were all trying to do our best, and even the impossible, to save him, Andrei was already no longer alive,” said Kiselev. Stenin, 33, had been based in Ukraine since May 14.

Three other Russian journalists were killed in Ukraine in June. An Italian photographer and his Russian assistant were killed at the end of May.